Arthur Priestley
Encyclopedia
Sir Arthur Alexander Priestley (9 November 1865, Kensington
, London
– 10 April 1933,) was an English Liberal Party
politician and cricket
er. After three unsuccessful candidacies he held a seat in the House of Commons from 1900 to 1918. At cricket, he played for MCC
and took part in and later led overseas touring sides between 1894 and 1897.
(1831–1907), from Apperley Bridge
near Bradford
. His father was a mill-owner in Bradford, and served as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Pudsey
from 1895 to 1900. His brother William
was MP for Bradford East
from 1906 to 1918.
Arthur was educated privately, and travelled in most parts of the world participating in sports ranging from pig-sticking in Patiala to crocodile
-shooting on the White Nile
. He also took part in many cricketing tours.
, he was asked by the Liberal association in Stamford
to contest the seat against the sitting Conservative
MP, John Compton Lawrance
. He was in America at the time, but it was expected that he would accept the invitation; however in the event, Lawrance was returned unopposed.
He campaigned in support of the Liberal candidate at the September 1889 by-election in Sleaford
,
and first stood for Parliament
himself at the Stamford by-election in 1890, after Lawrence resigned his seat
in order to become a High Court judge
. Priestley issued his election address on 27 February,
and took up residence in the constituency. His nomination was signed by farmers, tradesmen, and working men.
In his final appeal to voters on 5 March he spoke of how reforms in the past had been achieved by the Liberals, and said "I believe that the programme of the party offers the best security for the preservation of the essential unity and greatness of the Empire, and the material prosperity and the moral elevation of all of its peoples".
Polling took place on 7 March,
and when the votes were counted at the Corn Exchange in Bourne
on Saturday 8 March, Priestley lost to the Conservative Henry Cust
by a margin of 282 votes (3.4% of the total). This was a significant improvement over the 13.8% majority of the Conservatives at the last contested election in 1885
, and Priestley told his supporters that they had done far better than he expected. To cheers of "next time, Priestley" he said that Gladstone would be encouraged by the result.
He was unsuccessful again when he contested Stamford at the 1892
and 1895 general election
s, but finally won a seat at the 1900 general election
by when he was returned as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Grantham
with a majority of only 38 votes (1.4%). He was re-elected three times in Grantham, with majorities which never exceeded 4.0% and fell as low as 33 votes (1.0%) in December 1910.
Priestley was knight
ed in February 1911,
and held the Grantham seat until the 1918 general election
, when he did not stand again.
He was a Justice of the Peace
(JP) for Grantham and for Lincolnshire
, and served as Mayor of Grantham from 1914 to 1917. His residence was listed in 1918 as Hungerton Hall, Grantham.
(M.C.C.). He played some minor games for the club in 1891 and 1893 without much success. Early in 1895, he was a member of Slade Lucas's cricket team
which toured West Indies in 1894-95. He made his first-class
debut against Barbados on this tour and played sixteen games, of which seven were first-class. However, his highest score in any innings was 36 runs
. Later in 1895, he played his only first-class match in England, for the M.C.C. against Warwickshire but scored just two runs in the game.
In January 1897, Priestley led his own team
on a tour of West Indies. However, the visit was controversial as Lord Hawke
visited the region at the same time. Priestley had been invited by Barbados and Jamaica while Demerera asked Hawke to send a team. Trinidad was happy to accommodate either team but attempts to merge the two touring parties came to nothing. However, the teams did not clash and Priestley was believed to have better cricketers on his team. The tourists played nine first-class games and sixteen matches in total. Priestley only reached double figures in three innings with a top score of 30. During 1898, Priestley played two minor matches on Andrew Stoddart
's tour of Australia and Priestley toured two more times—he toured North America with K. S. Ranjitsinhji's side in 1899 and then with Bernard Bosanquet
's in 1901, although neither team played any first-class matches.
In all first class cricket, as a right-handed batsman, he scored 183 runs at an average of just 7.32 with a top score of 36 and in these games he took eleven catches.
In 1908 the touring Gentlemen of Philadelphia played a match against Grantham Cricket Club, when Priestley, then MP played on the side of the Philadelphians. Also playing for Philadelphia were Bart King
, Nelson Graves
and John Lester
who scored a century. Priestley scored 14 but the match ended in a draw.
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
– 10 April 1933,) was an English Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. After three unsuccessful candidacies he held a seat in the House of Commons from 1900 to 1918. At cricket, he played for MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
and took part in and later led overseas touring sides between 1894 and 1897.
Early life
Priestley was the youngest surviving son of Briggs PriestleyBriggs Priestley
Briggs Priestley was an English cloth manufacturer and Liberal Party politician from Bradford in West Yorkshire.-Biography:...
(1831–1907), from Apperley Bridge
Apperley Bridge
Apperley Bridge is a village in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England. Apperley Bridge is north-east of Bradford on the boundary with the City of Leeds bounded in part in the east by Carr Beck and to the south by Greengates. The village of Apperley Bridge...
near Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
. His father was a mill-owner in Bradford, and served as the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Pudsey
Pudsey (UK Parliament constituency)
Pudsey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
from 1895 to 1900. His brother William
William Edward Briggs Priestley
Sir William Edward Briggs Priestley was an Liberal politician from the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was Member of Parliament for Bradford East from 1906 to 1918....
was MP for Bradford East
Bradford East (UK Parliament constituency)
Bradford East is the name of a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency originally existed from 1885 to 1974 and was recreated for the 2010 general election, electing one Member of Parliament by the first past the post...
from 1906 to 1918.
Arthur was educated privately, and travelled in most parts of the world participating in sports ranging from pig-sticking in Patiala to crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
-shooting on the White Nile
White Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...
. He also took part in many cricketing tours.
Politics
After the 1886 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1886
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
, he was asked by the Liberal association in Stamford
Stamford (UK Parliament constituency)
Stamford was a constituency in the county of Lincolnshire of the House of Commons for the Parliament of England to 1706 then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918...
to contest the seat against the sitting Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP, John Compton Lawrance
John Compton Lawrance
Sir John Compton Lawrance DL was an English judge and Conservative Party politician.-Biography:Lawrance was the son of Thomas Munton Lawrance of Dunsby Hall, Lincolnshire and his wife Louisa Compton. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1859, and became a Q.C. in 1877. He became Recorder...
. He was in America at the time, but it was expected that he would accept the invitation; however in the event, Lawrance was returned unopposed.
He campaigned in support of the Liberal candidate at the September 1889 by-election in Sleaford
Sleaford (UK Parliament constituency)
Sleaford was a county constituency in Lincolnshire, centred on the town of Sleaford. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
,
and first stood for Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
himself at the Stamford by-election in 1890, after Lawrence resigned his seat
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
in order to become a High Court judge
High Court judge
A High Court judge is a judge of the High Court of Justice, and represents the third highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales. High Court judges are referred to as puisne judges...
. Priestley issued his election address on 27 February,
and took up residence in the constituency. His nomination was signed by farmers, tradesmen, and working men.
In his final appeal to voters on 5 March he spoke of how reforms in the past had been achieved by the Liberals, and said "I believe that the programme of the party offers the best security for the preservation of the essential unity and greatness of the Empire, and the material prosperity and the moral elevation of all of its peoples".
Polling took place on 7 March,
and when the votes were counted at the Corn Exchange in Bourne
Bourne, Lincolnshire
Bourne is a market town and civil parish on the western edge of the Fens, in the District of South Kesteven in southern Lincolnshire, England.-The town:...
on Saturday 8 March, Priestley lost to the Conservative Henry Cust
Henry Cust
Henry John "Harry" Cockayne-Cust was an English politician and editor who served as a Member of Parliament for the Unionist Party.-Biography:...
by a margin of 282 votes (3.4% of the total). This was a significant improvement over the 13.8% majority of the Conservatives at the last contested election in 1885
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
, and Priestley told his supporters that they had done far better than he expected. To cheers of "next time, Priestley" he said that Gladstone would be encouraged by the result.
He was unsuccessful again when he contested Stamford at the 1892
United Kingdom general election, 1892
The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...
and 1895 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1895
The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...
s, but finally won a seat at the 1900 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1900
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
by when he was returned as the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Grantham
Grantham (UK Parliament constituency)
Grantham was a Parliamentary constituency in Lincolnshire, England.The constituency was created in 1468 as a parliamentary borough which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until the union with Scotland, and then to the Parliament of Great Britain...
with a majority of only 38 votes (1.4%). He was re-elected three times in Grantham, with majorities which never exceeded 4.0% and fell as low as 33 votes (1.0%) in December 1910.
Priestley was knight
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
ed in February 1911,
and held the Grantham seat until the 1918 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
, when he did not stand again.
He was a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(JP) for Grantham and for Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, and served as Mayor of Grantham from 1914 to 1917. His residence was listed in 1918 as Hungerton Hall, Grantham.
Cricket
Priestley was not especially well-known as a cricketer, although he was a member of the Marylebone Cricket ClubMarylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
(M.C.C.). He played some minor games for the club in 1891 and 1893 without much success. Early in 1895, he was a member of Slade Lucas's cricket team
RS Lucas' XI cricket team in West Indies in 1894-95
A team of Amateurs under the captaincy of Mr. R. Slade Lucas toured the West Indies in the 1894-95 season playing matches between January and April 1895. They played a total of 16 matches of which 8 are regarded as first-class.-Touring team:...
which toured West Indies in 1894-95. He made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut against Barbados on this tour and played sixteen games, of which seven were first-class. However, his highest score in any innings was 36 runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
. Later in 1895, he played his only first-class match in England, for the M.C.C. against Warwickshire but scored just two runs in the game.
In January 1897, Priestley led his own team
AA Priestley's XI cricket team in West Indies in 1896-97
A team of Amateurs under the captaincy of Mr. A. A. Priestley toured the West Indies in the 1896-97 season playing matches between January and March 1897. They played a total of 16 matches of which 9 are regarded as first class. They did not play in British Guiana....
on a tour of West Indies. However, the visit was controversial as Lord Hawke
Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke
Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke of Towton , generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer who played major roles in the sport's administration....
visited the region at the same time. Priestley had been invited by Barbados and Jamaica while Demerera asked Hawke to send a team. Trinidad was happy to accommodate either team but attempts to merge the two touring parties came to nothing. However, the teams did not clash and Priestley was believed to have better cricketers on his team. The tourists played nine first-class games and sixteen matches in total. Priestley only reached double figures in three innings with a top score of 30. During 1898, Priestley played two minor matches on Andrew Stoddart
Andrew Stoddart
Andrew Ernest Stoddart was an English cricketer and rugby union player. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1893.-Cricket career:...
's tour of Australia and Priestley toured two more times—he toured North America with K. S. Ranjitsinhji's side in 1899 and then with Bernard Bosanquet
Bernard Bosanquet (cricketer)
Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet was an English cricketer best known for inventing the googly, a delivery designed to deceive the batsman. When bowled, it appears to be a leg break, but after pitching the ball turns in the opposite direction to that which is expected, behaving as an off break instead...
's in 1901, although neither team played any first-class matches.
In all first class cricket, as a right-handed batsman, he scored 183 runs at an average of just 7.32 with a top score of 36 and in these games he took eleven catches.
In 1908 the touring Gentlemen of Philadelphia played a match against Grantham Cricket Club, when Priestley, then MP played on the side of the Philadelphians. Also playing for Philadelphia were Bart King
Bart King
John Barton "Bart" King was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. King was one of the Philadelphian cricketers that played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I...
, Nelson Graves
Nelson Graves
Nelson Zwinglius Graves was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Graves was one of the Philadelphian cricketers that played from the end of the 19th century through the early years of the next...
and John Lester
John Lester
John Ashby Lester was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Lester was one of the Philadelphian cricketers who played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I...
who scored a century. Priestley scored 14 but the match ended in a draw.